YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: The major equity averages finished mixed as market participants opted to take a break from the action after stocks had rallied more than 7% during the course of the three previous sessions. Today's headlines weren't enough to motivate a follow-up effort.

The ISM Manufacturing Index improved in November to 52.7 from 50.8 in the prior month. Moreover, it exceeded the expected reading of 51.0. In contrast, China's PMI Manufacturing figure decreased to 49.0 in November from 50.4 in October. The eurozone's reading for November stayed at 46.4.

Domestic construction spending increased by 0.8% in October, besting the 0.3% increase that had been broadly expected.

Weekly initial jobless claims increased from an upwardly revised 396,000 to 402,000 in the face of calls for a total of 390,000 initial claims.

Retailers and auto makers came into closer focus today. Retailers offered up their latest same-store sales results, which proved relatively uninspiring. However, Aeropostale (ARO 16.19, +0.68) fought off a weak start that was owed to the apparel retailer's disappointing forecast. Even Guess? (GES 29.61, +1.49) scored a strong gain after traders dismissed its downside forecast.

Auto makers had a mixed session amid monthly U.S. sales numbers. General Motors (GM 20.96, -0.33) posted a 7% year-over-year increase in U.S. sales for November, while Ford (F 10.59, -0.01) offered up a 13% increase from the prior year. Toyota Motor (TM 65.72, -0.19) had an increase of little more than 2%.

Precious metals encountered pressure in afternoon trade, causing both gold and silver prices to settle lower for the session. More specifically, gold surrendered a mid-morning gain to settle with a 0.6% loss at $1739 per ounce. As for silver, it fell to $32.66 per ounce for a 0.5% loss after it had been up more than 1% this morning.

In the energy complex, oil prices settled with a 0.1% gain at $100.23 per barrel after oscillating for most of the session. Natural gas scored a 2.5% gain by settling pit trade at $3.64 per MMBtu. The move was helped along by bullish inventory data.

Advancing Sectors: Tech +0.6%, Health Care +0.1%
Unchanged: Consumer Discretionary
Declining Sectors: Utilities -0.2%, Industrials -0.2%, Consumer Staples -0.3%, Telecom -0.4%, Materials -0.6%, Energy -0.7%, Financials -1.0%DJ30 -25.65 NASDAQ +5.86 NQ100 +0.6% R2K -0.9% SP400 -0.6% SP500 -2.38 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 927/1.83 bln/1599 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1203/855 mln/1812